Button-cutting machine.



F. E. RRASNY.

BUTTON CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 001. 16. 1911.

Patented. 31113 2, 1918.

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BUTTON-CUTTING MACHINE.

LWIIMIE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK I]. KRAsNY, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Irvington, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey,have invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Button CuttingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to button cutting machines. The object of theinvention is the provision of means for cutting a plurality of buttonblanks from hard material suchas shell at a single operation.

In cutting pearl button blanks from shell it is the present practice tomake use of lathes cutting a single button blank at each operation, andthe work requires skilled operators, it being necessary to re-locate theshell after each blank is cut and before the cutting of a new one isbegun in order that the material will be utilized to the fullest extentand a maximum number of buttons be secured from each piece of shell.Such work is extremely diflicult, the output per operator and permachine is limited and the necessary skilled labor commands high wages.

With a device constructed in accordance with the present inventionit'becomes possible to produce a plurality of button blanks at eachoperation, and each time the shell is re-located for subsequentoperations, instead of a single button blank being produced .a pluralityof blanks are produced according to the capacity of the device used andthe number of cutters contained therein, and by the use of devicesembodying my invention a very greatly increased output can be obtainedand additionaleconomy is secured in that the relative position of thecutter with which the machine is equipped is such as to secure thecorrect spacing of the various blanks cut at a time and there need be norelocation of the shell between the cutting of individual buttons, as isnecessary in accordance with present practice.

A. device in accordance with the present invention is especially adaptedfor cutting small pearl buttons, as from sixteenline buttons to eighteenline buttons. With such small buttons it is especially desirable thatmeans for cutting a plurality of button blanksat one time be obtained,as with a lathe cutting but a single button'blank at a n time, theproduction at the button blanks Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2, JWJW.

Appficationliled Uctober 16, 1917. Serial No. 196,840.

with such minute buttons is excessively expensive. lhe invention,however, can be utilized for larger sizes of buttons and for cuttingblanks from other material than shell, but it is especially adapted forthe severe work of cutting the hard shell material, and being adaptedfor cutting such material it is, of course, available for cutting softermaterials and for cutting blanks of larger size.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown an embodiment of my inventionfor the purpose of making it clearly understood and not for the purposeof limitation in any way, and in such drawing, forming a part of thisspecification and wherein the same reference numerals are uniformlyapplied to designate the same parts throughout, Figure 1 is a face view,with parts broken away, of a fixture for cutting five button blanks atonce. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 2-2, Fig. 1',and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a cutter.

he manner of mounting may be varied in a number of ways, but in the formshown two metallic blocks 10, 10, preferably of steel, are securedtogether as by cap screws 11, Ill, and bearing holes 12, 12 are formedcentrally therein, half of each hole in one of the blocks 10 and theother half in the other block, to provide for convenient assembly of theparts. Spindles 13 preferably having longitudinal bores 13 extendingtherethrough are provided, and the same are given long substantialbearing surfaces in the members 10, 10, the lower bearings 14, in theform shown, being longer than the upper bearings 15, as the work ofcutting is borne by the ends of the spindles 13 mov ing beyond thebearings 14:. The spindles have gear teeth 16 out directly in thematerial thereof, and in the form shown the blocks 10 are cut or gougedout, as shown at 17, to provide room for the toothed portions 16 of thespindles 13 'to run in. If desired, the material of the blocks 10 may becut away just sufficiently to accommodate the toothed portions 16 andadditionalbearing surface may be hood for supporting the spindles in theproperrunnin relatiomalthough this is not essential and there may beclearance between the toothed portions 16 and'the cut away part 1? a thebla ts 1 Wtrfilwti .16 WW obtained in this neighborbe run on thespindles 13 on each side of the geair toothed parts 16, but this is notessentia In the form shown there are five of the spindles 13 and thecentral spindle 13 is elongated in order to afford opportunity for theapplication of driving power. Power may be applied in any desired way,as, for example, to a pinion secured to the driving shaft 13 care beingtaken to see that the pinion is not so large as to cover the openings 13in adjacent spindles, or the spindle 13 may be rmadethe same length asthe others and power applied to the gear teeth 16 cut thereon, or powermay be applied to any other or others of the gear teeth in the series,but the preference is that it be applied to the central spindle tosecure proper balance in the running of the device.

The ends 18 of the spindles projecting beyond the bearings 14 arepreferably formed with a collar 19 to afiord a thrust bearing and areprovided with means for securing hollow cutters thereon. In the formshown they are provided with pins 20 and the hollow cutters 21 areformed with bayonet slots 22 so that the cutters 21 may be secured inplace by being inserted over the projecting spindle ends 18 and turnedso as to bring the sidewise notches 22, 22" of the bayonet slots 22 intoholding relations with the pins 20.

With the construction shown it will be apparent that alternate cutters,being directly meshed together by the gear teeth 16 on the spindles 13,rotate in opposite directions, and therefore the notches in the bayonetslots 22 for alternate cutters are turned in opposite directions, asshown at 22 and 22", Fig. 1. The teeth of the cutters are, of course,formed to correspond with the direc tion of rotation thereof, thosewhich rotate in one direction having pointed cutting teeth 23, and thecutters rotating in the opposite direction having oppositely di rectedcutting teeth 23.

The pinion gear teeth 16 are made of great .length in order to stand upunder the heavy work required in cuttingv the glass hard shell fromwhich the button blanks are formed, and the spindles 13 and the teeth16' thereon are preferably formed of very high wear-resisting material,such as tool steel, and carefully hardened in order that they may beable to withstand the excessive wear encountered in the cutting of thebutton :blanks from the hard material of the shell, and the cutters 21are, of course, of material such as is adapted for the purpose ofcutting the blanks. These cutters, however, are such as are customarilyin use with the exception of the special provision, including thebayonet slots 22 and pins 20, for holding them in place, which isdesigned to prevent interference between adjacent cut.-

ters, the usual means for holding such cutters in place on a singlespindle lathe not being capable of use with the present inventionbecause of the undue lateral extension thereof which would interferewith adjacent cutters and spindles.

By providing very large bearing surfaces 14 and 15, and preferably byalso providing a bearing surface for the teeth 16 in the recess 17, thespindles may be maintained in proper relation notwithstanding theexcessively great thrust and wear which is produced thereon in theoperation and in the transmission of power sufficient to cut a pluralityof button blanks at one time from the hard shell.

It will be understood, of course, that while five spindles areillustrated in the drawing, I am not limited to this precise number, asa greater or lesser number of spindles may be contained in a cuttinghead, as three. five. seven, nine and so forth, the number in all casespreferably being odd in order to secure even balance in running.

After the blanks are cut from the shell they may be ejected as by meansof rods or wires (not shown) which may be inserted through the hollowbores 13 of the spindles 13.

It will be understood that while the invention is embodied in a fixtureas shown in the present drawing, it may be secured in and operated bythe working elements in any desired piece of machinery, as lathes, drillpresses, or especially designed frame or machine structure, and in orderthat it may be accurately positioned therein the positioning means suchas the dowel pins 24, 24, or other equivalent positioning means may beprovided.

The operation of a device in accordance with the invention will bereadily understood from the foregoing. The fixture shown is connected upto a source of power in any desired way, as by power applied through thecentral spindle 13, and the spindle ends 18 are provided with alternateright and left cutters 20 which are secured in place thereon by meanswhich are adapted to se cure adequate holding effect without unduelateral projection, as, for example, by means of the bayonet slots 22coacting with the pins 20, and the fixture so equipped with cutters isbrought into cutting relation with the shell, as by movement of thecutting device toward the shell or vice versa, and a plurality ofclosely spaced circular blanks are out from the shell corresponding innumber to the number of spindles and cutters with which the device isequipped, and in the form shown five blanks are cut at one time. In thesimplest form of the device the cutters are preferably arranged in astraight line, as will be apparent from Fig. 2, but they may have otherrelations to one another so long as there is no interference with thecoaction between the gear teeth 16 on adjacent spindles 13. The cutters21, when worn or broken, may readily be removed by backing them up alittle distance and then pulling them off and can be as readily replacedafter sharpening or by the substitution of new cutters for broken ones.

It will be seen that apparatus in accordance with the present inventionresults in a very great decrease of the manual labor in volved in thecutting of button blanks from shell, that the output per operator andper machine is vastly greater than with the single cutter lathe now inuse, and that an economy is effected in the shell material, as all thecutters in a single cutter device have permanent relation to one anotherandthe spacing between the cutters is not left to human judgment exceptwhen there is relative movement between the cutting device and theshell, which occurs only after a plurality of blanks have been out at asingle operation.

It is to be understood that the embodiment illustrated is for thepurpose of afiording a clear understanding of my invention only and thatI am not to be limited thereto ex cept as is required by my claims, bywhich the scope of my invention is defined, and that modifications andchanges may be re- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five centseach, by addressing the sorted to Within the scope of my claims Withoutdeparting from or sacrificing the advantages of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a button cutting machine, a series of parallel spindles locatedclose together and having gear teeth formed thereon and meshing with oneanother, and hollow cutters on said spindles, said cutters being locatedside by side and substantially in contact with one another, whereby theannular cut out portions between adjacent button blanks merge togetherand a maximum production is obtained.

2. In a button cutting machine, a plurality of parallel spindlesprovided with integral spur gear teeth, the gear teeth on adjacentspindles meshing together, and closely adja cent hollow cutters ofsubstantially. sleeve form and fitting over said spindles.

3. In a button cutting machine, a plurality of hollow cutters arrangedin a line and spaced closely adjacent to one another, and means forrotating the adjacent cutters in the series in opposite directions, theadjacent cutters having oppositely directioned cuttinlg teeth.

in testimony that I claim the foregoing, ll my hand, this 15th day ofFRANK E. KRASNY.

have hereto set October, 1917.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

